Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Lafave judge silences attorneys

His gag order applies to both prosecutor and defense attorney, who was dealt several blows from rulings Friday.

By CANDACE RONDEAUX
Published November 19, 2005

TAMPA - Debra Lafave may be the talk of the town, but a Hillsborough judge Friday had four simple words for attorneys involved in her case: Keep your mouths shut.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman issued a gag order, barring a prosecutor and Lafave's attorney from talking publicly about the case. With roughly two weeks left before Lafave, a 25-year-old former Greco Middle School teacher, goes to trial on charges she had sex with a 14-year-old student, the ruling dealt a blow to defense attorney John Fitzgibbons.

"I don't see what the harm is in telling these guys, from this point on, in order to get a fair and impartial jury you guys keep your mouths shut," Timmerman said.

Media lawyers present at Friday's hearing did see the harm. Attorneys for the Times, Tampa Tribune and WFLA-Ch. 8 parent company Media General, Court TV and WTSP-Ch. 10 protested that the order violated the Constitution. All agreed the ruling endangers the First Amendment right to free speech and freedom of the press.

"I was deeply disappointed by the court's ruling on the motion in today's hearing because the court's order essentially amounts to a blanket gag order which, under the circumstances of this case, is clearly unconstitutional," said Times attorney Tom Reynolds.

Timmerman said he worries that comments published in the media could prejudice potential jurors, and make it difficult to select a panel from the 100-member jury pool expected for the Dec. 5 trial. The judge said he would give media attorneys a chance to argue the issue further during a Tuesday hearing, but the gag rule would remain in effect until then.

Dressed in a trim black pantsuit, pink shirt and high-heeled boots, Lafave shook her head and whispered to her parents as Hillsborough prosecutor Michael Sinacore argued in favor of silencing any public discussion of the case by attorneys. He said Fitzgibbons had made several inaccurate and inflammatory statements to the press that jeopardized the fairness of the trial.

"I don't want the rhetoric to be intensified in the media. We do not want to go tainting jurors, to be getting comments that would be prejudicial in court," Sinacore said.

The judge agreed.

"There's not going to be a single person out of those 100 people that's going to come in and not have heard about this case unless they're living out in the woods in Wimauma somewhere," Timmerman said.

The ruling presented a quandary, however, after Sinacore revealed during the hearing that he planned to give copies of previously unreleased witness statements to the press Friday.

Under Florida law, documents and evidence that are part of a court case and that have been seen by attorneys on both sides - called discovery in legal lingo - are generally considered public records. Although portions of such material may be redacted or sealed, media outlets routinely request and gain access to such records.

Fitzgibbons objected to the release of the material, saying it would be unfair since under the gag order he would not be able to comment to the media about the witness statement.

"Your honor, I think I just got sucker punched," Fitzgibbons said. "Here we are two weeks before the trial and the state is going to dump a treasure trove and I'm not going to be able to comment."

Timmerman ordered Sinacore not to release the evidence to the media until Fitzgibbons has a chance to review the material. If Fitzgibbons objects to the release of specific documents, the judge could rule to prevent the media from obtaining copies.

Media attorneys also objected to that order and said they would challenge it next week.

"If the state had it ready and was ready give it to the media today, Florida law requires it should be turned over today," Reynolds said after Friday's hearing.

Lafave's defense suffered another setback after Sinacore convinced the judge to limit testimony about other possible factors in the case, including the teenage boy's sex life.

"The victim's character is not relevant to the issues. The jury shouldn't be deciding: "We don't like the victim. We do like the defendant,' " Sinacore said.

The prosecutor scored a second victory when the judge said testimony about photographs of Lafave's genitals that were taken by jail staff members as part of a search warrant could not be admitted during the trial.

Fitzgibbons unsuccessfully had argued that the testimony about the photos could be important to his client's insanity defense. He said the experience of having the photos taken traumatized Lafave and no doubt affected how psychiatrists viewed her state of mind when they examined her.

In May, a psychologist called by the state concluded Lafave was sane at the time of the crime. Five psychiatrists and a psychologist have examined Lafave, but their findings have been sealed.

Candace Rondeaux can be reached at 813 226-3337 or rondeaux@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 19, 2005, 01:07:13]